COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Tennis (12-4, 0-3 SEC) dropped its SEC home opener, 4-1, to Arkansas (7-6, 1-2 SEC) on Saturday afternoon at the Mizzou Tennis Complex. Mizzou grabbed the doubles point, winning matches at the No. 1 and 3 positions to grab a 1-0 lead, but Arkansas responded with wins in singles play at the No. 1-4 positions to earn the victory.
Mizzou's No. 1 doubles team of junior Bea Machado Santos (Lisbon, Portugal) and sophomore Brianna Lashway (Bradenton, Fla.) recorded the first win of the day for the Tigers, defeating Arkansas' team of Yuilya Lysa and Agne Cepelyte, 6-1. At No. 3, junior Brittany Lashway (Bradenton, Fla.) and junior Cassidy Spearman (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) secured the doubles point for Mizzou following a 6-3 win over Mia Jurasic and Ana Oparenovic. In 16 matches this season, Mizzou has won the doubles points 12 times.
In singles play, Arkansas won four matches at the No. 1-4 positions to earn the victory. All four matches were won on straight sets. At the No. 1 position, Santos led 4-2 over Ana Oparenovic in the first set, but ended up dropping the match, 6-4, 6-3. Spearman, playing at the No. 4 position, rallied to tie set two, 5-5, but dropped the next two games to fall, 6-3, 7-5.
Mizzou will next be in action on Friday, March 18 when the Tigers host Auburn at the Mizzou Tennis Complex. The match is scheduled 5 p.m. CT and will be streamed through the Mizzou Network.
For all the latest on Mizzou Tennis, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and follow the team on Facebook (MizzouTennis), Twitter (@MizzouTennis) and Instagram (@Mizzou_Tennis).
Mizzou 1, Arkansas 4
Doubles
1. Bea Machado Santos / Brianna Lashway (Mizzou) def. Yuilya Lysa / Agne Cepelyte (Arkansas): 6-1
2. Kelli Hine / Clare Raley (Mizzou) vs. Makenzie Craft / Flavia Araujo (Arkansas): unfinished
3. Brittany Lashway / Cassidy Spearman (Mizzou) def. Mia Jurasic / Ana Oparenovic (Arkansas): 6-3
Singles
1. Ana Oparenovic (Arkansas) def. Bea Machado Santos (Mizzou): 6-4, 6-3
2. Yuliya Lysa (Arkansas) def. Brianna Lashway (Mizzou): 6-1, 6-1
3. Shannon Hudson (Arkansas) def. Kelli Hine (Mizzou): 6-3, 6-3
4. Makenzie Craft (Arkansas) def. Cassidy Spearman (Mizzou): 6-3, 7-5
5. Brittany Lashway (Mizzou) vs. Mia Jurasic (Arkansas): 3-3, unfinished
6. Clare Raley (Mizzou) vs. Sasha Shkorupeieva (Arkansas): unfinished
